As Principal Engineer and Manager of the Advanced Vehicle Systems Group at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colo., Dr. Farrington directs teams researching new technologies that will provide economically and environmentally beneficial transportation systems for the 21st Century. He has worked since 1979 as an engineer and researcher at NREL, where he has led efforts to reduce vehicle fuel consumption from auxiliary loads, develop hybrid vehicle systems and advance a range of technologies for energy conservation. Dr. Farrington was the NREL technical manager, from 1993-2001, of the DOE/Ford collaborative effort to develop a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) under the DOE HEV Program and Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) which resulted in the Ford Prodigy prototype HEV.
An expert in automotive systems, electric and hybrid vehicles, energy conservation, heat transfer and fluid dynamics, Dr. Farrington has a Ph.D, in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado, an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University, and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University.
Dr. Farrington has lectured nationally and internationally on advanced vehicle technologies and recently testified to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee on opportunities to reduce automotive fuel use.
Dr. Farrington's work has yielded four patents spanning several technological areas, and he has published more than 80 technical reports and articles. He is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Instrument Society of America, and is a licensed professional engineer in Colorado.
Segment 1:From Nuclear Energy to New Vehicles [Time 5:49]
How did a talk with a mentor, an eye-opening class, and a sobering nuclear incident known as Three-Mile Island turn a nuclear engineering student in the 1970's on to the brand-new field of renewable energy? Find out about his current work on cutting-edge hybrid electric designs for the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Vehicles Group.
Segment 2:Capturing the Kinetic [Time 5:44] "The most efficient vehicle is the one you leave in your driveway," says Rob Farrington. An SUV can burn $40,000 in gasoline over ten years, but if you must drive, find out from him how you can reduce, recover, and regenerate some of that energy with a hybrid car.
Segment 3:Slide Back to Electric [Time 6:55]
In fifty years we won't be driving around in oil-burning vehicles anymore, says Farrington. Will this be a return to the dawn of the automobile age when electric was king? In a sense, yes, but also so much more.
Segment 4: Dream Car [Time 5:22]
What is your dream car? Does it plug in, cool you off with climate-control seats, and still zip around the curves? Rob Farrington shares his own vision of all that could make up the ideal present and future automotive.
Segment 5: Greater Efficiency, Part by Part [Time 6:07]
It would take 15 years to replace the 240 million oil-burning vehicles on the roads with efficient, renewable energy vehicles if you started today. Even so, small tweaks, like underbody panels and multi-speed transmissions, can get you part-way there a lot sooner.
National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Advanced Vehicles
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) test bed at the National Wind Technology Center.
[Courtesy of DOE/NREL; Credit: Mike Linenberger]
A 9 kWh battery pack integrated by EnergyCS from iron phosphate cells for a Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid conversion.
[Courtesy of DOE/NREL; Credit: Ahmad Pesaran]
Dr. Robert Farrington (center) explains plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) technology to Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt of Sweden (left) as Dr. Dan Arvizu (right), Director, NREL, looks on.
[Courtesy of DOE/NREL; Credit: Pat Corkery]
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's solar charging canopy.
[Courtesy of DOE/NREL]
A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) and an electric vehicle (EV) charging at the solar energy charging station.
[Courtesy of DOE/NREL]
A plug-in HEV and hydrogen fuel cell vehicle parked under the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's solar charging canopy.
[Credit: Dr. Robert Farrington]
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) test bed at the National Wind Technology Center.
[Courtesy of DOE/NREL; Credit: Mike Linenberger]
A 9 kWh battery pack integrated by EnergyCS from iron phosphate cells for a Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid conversion.
[Courtesy of DOE/NREL; Credit: Ahmad Pesaran]
Dr. Robert Farrington (center) explains plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) technology to Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt of Sweden (left) as Dr. Dan Arvizu (right), Director, NREL, looks on.
[Courtesy of DOE/NREL; Credit: Pat Corkery]
A plug-in HEV and hydrogen fuel cell vehicle parked under the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's solar charging canopy.
[Courtesy of DOE/NREL; Credit: Keith Wipke]
As Principal Engineer and Manager of the Advanced Vehicle Systems Group at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colo., Dr. Farrington directs teams researching new technologies that will provide economically and environmentally beneficial transportation systems for the 21st Century. He has worked since 1979 as an engineer and researcher at NREL, where he has led efforts to reduce vehicle fuel consumption from auxiliary loads, develop hybrid vehicle systems and advance a range of technologies for energy conservation. Dr. Farrington was the NREL technical manager, from 1993-2001, of the DOE/Ford collaborative effort to develop a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) under the DOE HEV Program and Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) which resulted in the Ford Prodigy prototype HEV.
Segment 1: 
